Vitsebsk: Election Commissions Issue Deficient Documents to Registered Candidates
In Vitsebsk region more than 2 000 initiative groups of candidates to local deputy soviets were registered. More than 100 of them represent candidates from eight political parties, the rest collect signatures in support of non-partisan and independent candidates.
This time the activity of independent candidates in Vitsebsk is especially noticeable. The officials work for the favour of their own candidates. That’s why they invented peculiar traps for those, whom they don’t want to become deputies. For instance, they issued to all members of the initiative group of Tatsiana Seviarynets certificates without seals, including certificate to Aliaksandr Milinkevich. In the documents of members of the initiative group of the representative of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Vitsebsk region Pavel Levinau their surnames were written with mistakes. The same happened to second names of members of Volha Karach’s initiative group.
Volha Karach commented to Deutsche Welle: ‘It is not an accident. They made it on purpose. For instance, if a certificate is issued for Ivankouskaia and in passport Ivanouskaia is written, deputy chair of borough administration can refuse to verify the signatures she collected and she will have to do it once again. We found one more violation. My initiative group was registered under #66, but when we came to check it, it was #11.’
At the same time, the Central Election Commission reports having no information about any violations during registration of candidates.
Vitsebsk opposition activists registered law violations by candidates from the pro-governmental Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM) Iury Hurski, chair of BRSM unit of Vitsebsk State Technologic University and Aliaksandr Mamaieu, chair of transport department who earlier headed a BRSM unit and reported about it to an election commission. However, the commission members stated it wasn’t a reason for non-registering these candidates.
